Beachcomber

If you are looking for GeraldineChapey's column, "Chatting WithChapey," you probably will not seeit for a while. The Wave's editorialboard has suspended her columnuntil she answers some questionsabout her non-profit senior citizenvan service, for which she hasreceived more than $1,000,000 incity funds over the past dozenyears or so. We have queriedChapey at least twice in personand once by Email, and she hasyet to respond with answers toquestions about where the publicmoney was spent.

The new ferry service seems to be picking up traction, particularly as the weather gets milder. For those who live in the west end and work in lower Manhattan, the trip can be a real treat, with beautiful vistas and a comfortable seat. We would still like to see, however, the boat make another stop after Pier 11 in Wall Street. Should the boat continue on to another stop somewhere on the east side of midtown, we believe that the ridership would expand exponentially.

Now that the plan to use the oldcourthouse on Beach 92 Streetand Beach Channel Drive as aCUNY annex has died, we wonderwhat will happen to the landmarkbuilding. Years ago, we recommendedthat the building betaken over by the city as a communityactivity center, whereCommunity Board 14 and othercity agencies could have theiroffices, joined by other state andfederal elected officials. Wouldn'tit be great to have Social Security,Unemployment, CB 14, AudreyPheffer, Joe Addabbo and AnthonyWeiner all in one historicbuilding?

The 100 Precinct's truancy patrol has been active of late. On May 14, for example, the local cops, joined by officers from Patrol Borough Queens South, picked up 28 truants in one early morning sweep. One arrest was made when one of the truants took a swing at a school safety officer. The underlying philosophy of the sweeps if that if a kid is not in school, he is not learning anything and he might well be looking for trouble

For the first time in recent memory,Curran's Meats on Beach 129Street will be open on Sundaysduring the summer season. Bypopular request, the butcher willbe open from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. onSundays from Memorial Dayweekend through Labor Day.

Rumors have spread like wildfire through the community that lifeguard lieutenant and Rockaway resident Janet Fash will soon be punished by the city's Department of Parks for blowing the whistle on the unfair and unsafe practices used by the department to hire and train Rockaway's lifeguard corps. We believe that any move to punish Fash for telling the truth about the process would cause an outrage on the peninsula that would rock the agency's leadership. We certainly hope that it is only a rumor, but in Bloomberg's city, you can never be sure.

Anumber of parents have contactedThe Wave with the informationthat some stores in RockawayPark are selling "singles," unpackagedcigarettes, to minors, somethingthat is in violation of thelaw. The parents say that there isa code of sorts. Kids who go intothe store and ask for "two candies,"for example, are quicklysold two cigarettes, parentscharge. We have not been able tocorroborate the parent's contention,and local cops say theyknow nothing about it, but if it isgoing on, it certainly should stop.

We were remiss in failing to credit Timothy Aaron-Styles for the fine photos of the Parks Department's Learn To Ride A Bike Day..

What are the most popular babynames among New Yorkers? Probablynot what you would think.The top girl's names are: Isabella,Sophia, Emily, Olivia and Ava. Thetop boy's names are Michael,Matthew, Anthony, Joseph andDaniel. The same five names havetopped the list for the past twoyears, albeit in a different order.

The city's Emergency Medical Service (EMS) will have to use overtime to fill its shifts this summer because of a shortage of EMT's, city officials say. Fire officials report that there are 121 open slots that can't be filled. There are a number of reasons for the shortfall, officials say. First, many EMT's leave to become firefighters, a higherpaying job and a more prestigious job as well. About 80 EMT's will soon be leaving to fill firefighter slots. Then, there's the low salary paid during the long training program necessary to become certified by the state. One of the union officials pointed out that garbage collectors make 30 percent more than EMT's and need no training whatsoever.

One of the new, smaller schoolscoming to Far Rockaway HighSchool is in dire need of students.The Queens High School For Information,Research and Technologywill open its doors insidethe high school building in September,if it can garner the necessary81 students that will allow itto begin its program. Right now,The Wave has been told, there areonly 17 students signed up for theprogram. School officials say thatthe program was approved aftermany students had already madetheir choices for September, makingit tough to recruit. "We've gotto get word out to the community,"school leader Michele Williamstold The Wave. "We don'tcare what level the students areat. When we finish with them,they'll be ready to go to college.They just have to hear our story."The school is partnered with theQueens Library, and will have allof those programs and facilities towork with. Parents who are interested,should contact Williams atthe school.

Storeowners on Beach 129 Street are very unhappy with the mayor's plan to allow free parking at meters on Sundays. A number of local storeowners called to say that motorists park on the shopping street after 7 p.m. on Saturday and leave their autos parked until early on Monday morning. That effectively takes away any parking for their patrons the entire day on Sunday. People who can't find a parking spot simply go elsewhere, leaving the locals without a sale.